by Cege Smith
“Why?” Connor’s low-pitched voice barely reached her ears. Without her wraith-enhanced hearing, she was sure that she wouldn’t have heard the question at all.
This was where she found out once and for all the strength of their bond. He had followed her into darkness. Would he follow her back out? Having fed on mortal blood, and given over to his baser darkness, he was capable of almost anything. She understood better than anyone how good that must feel to cast off the morals and emotions that were the core of a human life. Connor had been toeing the line between human and vampire for years. It was his feelings for her and his need to protect her that caused him to willingly swan dive off the cliff into darkness. She would have to live with the knowledge that she drove the one she loved into further madness.
And she was about to push him that much further by trying to pull him unwillingly back. “Because I command it, and I am your queen.”
Connor stiffened, and she saw a range of emotions cross his face before he could hide them from her. Shock. Outrage. Anger. She didn’t know where he had been for the last few hours, but she imagined breaking free of Theodora’s magic hadn’t come at an easy price for him. The blood covering his clothes was evidence enough of that. She needed him calm and in control of his bloodlust. To do so quickly, she had no choice but to take control of him through his promise of loyalty and hope that it would hold.
Connor didn’t move.
She leveled her stare and deliberately making her voice cold. “Stand down, solider.”
“You said we could feed now,” Marcus whined. The stocky man’s head swung back and forth between Angeline and Connor. “You don’t need to listen to her. You said you’d get your revenge, and I’d get to feed. I’m hungry.”
Marcus’s pout was absurd for the severity of the situation. Angeline was mildly amused. She remembered her own ravenous hunger in the hours after her transition, and she was amazed that the freshly created vampire had any control at all. Then the words of the Immortal Ones resurfaced in her mind.
“You have the ability to control your demon because of your sire.”
Connor was the key to some critical information whether he knew it or not. Finding out that secret was yet another item on Angeline’s ever growing list of things that she had to do to secure her throne and the fate of her people.
But at the moment, she simply had to gain Connor’s agreement that he would not murder the entire Clan council before her eyes. She forced her shoulders to relax and clasped her hands together before bringing them level with her waist. She lifted herself to her full height, took a deep breath, and waited.
It felt like an eternity before there was any movement again in the huge room. Then Connor swept down into a deep bow. “Whatever my Queen wishes, I will obey.”
Angeline couldn’t keep the small sigh from escaping her lips as she released the gulp of air that she had been holding in her lungs. She swung her head toward the crone who served as First Seat of the Clan.
“Theodora, First Seat of the Clan council, we have much to discuss.”
The air shimmered around the older woman, and Angeline found herself confronting the visage of Theodora’s much younger self once again. Theodora’s expression was thoughtful, but Angeline wasn’t fooled. Theodora was crafty and used manipulation and distraction to ensure control of those around her. Angeline wasn’t about to let down her guard, but she still needed to play nice.
For now.
“I believe you’re right, your Highness,” Theodora said. She began to move toward Angeline and put her foot on the step to join her on the platform when the council members scattered around them. An instant later, Connor had Theodora’s wrist in his fist.
“I think that’s close enough,” he hissed. “Whatever needs to be said can be said from here. On the ground at her feet is where you belong.”
Angeline saw the tenuousness of the situation. She needed to get Connor away from Theodora, and the rest of the council, before he did something that they would both regret.
“I believe what my companion is saying is that it has been an eventful evening, and I require some time to rest and gather my thoughts. My journey was difficult, as I’m sure you can imagine, and I am tired,” Angeline said smoothly.
“We are eager to hear of your journey,” Theodora said. Her voice was tight. Angeline couldn’t distinguish if it was from impatience, or the fact that she wasn’t able to use magic to release herself from Connor’s grip. “I’m sure you can understand that this is a historic event. It’s what we’ve been waiting generations to see.”
“Then you can surely wait a few more hours,” Angeline said with a sympathetic smile. “My thoughts are jumbled, and I need refreshment.”
“You heard her. She’s through with playing any more your little games tonight,” Connor said with a menacing growl.
Other than a small twitch of her wrist at the point where Connor’s skin touched hers, Theodora seemed unfazed by the fact that the vampire held her in his grasp. Angeline wondered if Connor’s immunity was temporary or not. Her curiosity about what Connor had been doing increased.
Angeline reached out and gently brushed Connor’s shoulder. Although she said nothing, and he didn’t look at her, she saw his fingers loosen. Theodora pulled her wrist away and stepped to the side of the platform.
“Of course,” Theodora said. “Might I suggest we reconvene at dawn? As you said, we have much to discuss.” She clapped her hands. Almost instantly, a small woman who had seen many years appeared from out of the shadows.
“Dara. Show the Queen and her companion back to their rooms,” Theodora said.
“Room,” Connor corrected. “I will not be leaving the Queen’s side again.”
Theodora sighed but said nothing else.
As Dara moved around the crowd toward the doors at the far end of the chamber, Angeline called out to stop her. “One moment, please.”
Angeline caught Connor’s look of surprise and lifted her hand in a gesture to wait. There was something that she had to do before she left. She feared that if she waited she would lose the courage to face the consequences of her actions.
Angeline turned around to face the altar at the back of the platform. Her throat tightened as she took in the gruesome sight in front of her. Kallie’s head lolled in her direction, and the girl’s dead, sightless eyes stared accusingly at her.
In order to enter the plane where the Immortal Ones slept their eternal slumber, Angeline had been forced to take the life of the young servant girl. She knew that no matter what happened from that point forward, slicing Kallie’s throat would remain her most horrible, dark regret. The fact that it had been unavoidable didn’t excuse it. She had innocent blood on her hands now, and no amount of washing would remove it. Angeline moved closer to Kallie’s body.
“No need to worry. The girl will be given a proper Clan burial,” Theodora said. “She gave her life for a great purpose. She will be rewarded on the other side.”
After her encounter with the Immortal Ones, Angeline wasn’t too sure of that. Kallie had been nothing more than a pawn for Theodora to move around at her will, like so many others including Angeline herself. She wondered how many had lived and how many, like her father and Kallie, had died on Theodora’s command.
Angeline wasn’t sure how she had managed to separate the fact that Theodora and her council were responsible for her father’s murder from the fact that she needed to rely on the same people for information. Perhaps it was because, until that point, she thought that information was necessary for her survival. She struggled to rebuild that wall around her emotions now. Seeing Eric Robart’s face and speaking with him, or at least the Immortal One who wore his face, brought her grief back to the surface again.
Anger boiled and rolled within her chest as she reached out to gently touch Kallie’s hand. The vibrating shock that shot through her arm sent her staggering backward. Even as she fell backwards, she felt strong arms catch her and bring her back to he
r feet.
Then a collective gasp went up from the crowd behind her. It took Angeline a moment to register why.
Kallie sat up ramrod straight on the altar. Her torso slowly turned toward Angeline. The grotesque gash remained at the base of her throat. The blood covering her thin shift glistened in the dim light from the chamber. But her eyes were still dead.
Angeline’s mouth opened, but she found that she couldn’t form any words.
A cry rang out in the air. “An abomination!”
Angeline couldn’t grasp what was happening or why. She knew that what she was seeing was impossible. But it was clear that it was her touch that set it in motion, whatever it was.
Theodora appeared at her side.
“Put it down,” she hissed under her breath in Angeline’s direction.
“I don’t understand what I did,” Angeline stammered.
“I don’t have time to explain. Just do it,” Theodora said. “Now!”
Angeline didn’t know how to do what Theodora asked. She didn’t even understand what ‘it’ was. Kallie’s legs swung out into the air off the altar, and in jerky, uncertain movements she slid down to place her feet on the floor.
In the end, Connor took the decision to act out of her hands. Pulling Angeline back to the edge of the platform, he stepped forward swinging his sword wide in the air. Angeline watched in horror as Kallie’s head left her body behind as it went soaring into the air.
Connor took Angeline’s arm. “I think it’s time for us to go.”
Leaving the wide-eyed Clan council members behind, Connor waved his hand at Dara, sending the woman scurrying in front of them. She had her hands gripped in the folds of her skirt, and they quickened their pace to keep up with her.
“Dawn, Your Majesty.” Theodora’s voice rang out behind them.
“Don’t turn around,” Connor whispered in her ear. “Don’t give her the satisfaction.”
But Angeline had gone numb. It was the only way she knew not to fall apart. One thought kept spinning through her mind as she pictured Kallie’s mutilated body picking itself up off the altar. She truly had become a monster.
CHAPTER TWO
Connor felt Marcus following closely behind them. He didn’t let go of Angeline’s arm, despite the fact that laying a hand on a royal body in the way that he was wouldn’t be viewed as appropriate. He had to get her somewhere safe before Theodora cooked up some new kind of torture to put her through. He discovered something else in the few minutes before their departure, and he wasn’t sure if Angeline had realized it yet. Somehow, when Angeline had touched the dead girl on the altar and reanimated her corpse, the shockwave also seemed to have repaired the bond between them.
He hadn’t realized how much he had come to depend on the ability to pluck thoughts out of the minds around him until it had been completely blocked when he arrived in Tanagor. The block also meant that he had been cut off from mentally communicating with Angeline through their blood bond. He wondered how many of the horrible events that had transpired could have been avoided if that one small thing had been different.
Outside the great hall, he felt his grip on reality come back into focus. Inside the hall, the only thing that kept him in check was Angeline’s will. He could see that now, and the resentment he felt toward her interference in his revenge plot dissipated. There was a great deal of comfort in knowing that even though he had given into his darkness, Angeline was the ray of light that could still pull him out. He never wanted to give her a reason to believe that trusting him was a mistake.
“What are we supposed to do now?”
Connor found Marcus’s nasally tone grating. “We are going to the Queen’s chambers, and then you will guard the door while the Queen and I have a discussion.”
“Oh, I get it. A discussion.” Marcus snorted.
Connor spun on his heel and felt a momentary surge of satisfaction at the other man’s widening eyes. Connor grabbed the front of Marcus’s shirt and slammed him up against a wall. “You speak so disrespectfully of your Queen again, I will cut off your head too.”
Marcus’s smile slipped slightly, but it didn’t fade away completely. Connor had sired the Clan’s guardsman because he needed another set of eyes when he broke Theodora’s magical hold over him. He chose Marcus precisely because of the surly attitude that was now directed at him. He wanted someone who had no problem being cruel and impertinent. Marcus’s temperament fit the bill perfectly.
The unexpected side benefit from breaking loose of Theodora’s spell was that Connor found that both he and Marcus were immune to all of her magic, at least for the time being. He planned to capitalize on that for as long as he could.
“You don’t need to get so upset. It was a joke,” Marcus said.
“Does it feel like this is the appropriate time to be making jokes?” Connor asked. He kept his tone low and gruff.
“Connor,” Angeline’s soft voice reached his ears and he looked over at her. Her pale face and tired eyes spoke to her exhaustion. “It is all right. The man has not sworn fealty to me. He is Clan.”
Connor’s mouth twisted. He wrapped his arm around Marcus’s neck and slammed his foot into the back of the man’s knees. “Easily fixed then.” He leaned down close to Marcus’s ear. “You heard the Queen. Swear your fealty.”
“Connor,” Angeline’s voice held a note of warning, but he held his hand up to quiet her.
He slapped the back of Marcus’s head. “Join us or I’ll kill you. It’s that simple.”
Marcus turned his face upwards, and Connor saw the look of murder there. “You said you’d give me my freedom after you exacted your revenge on the First Seat.”
“And I will,” Connor said. “In the meantime, consider this a gentle reminder of who’s in charge here.”
Marcus’s next words were said in an incoherent muffle.
“I didn’t quite catch that,” Connor said. “I doubt the Queen did either.”
“I swear fealty to the Queen,” Marcus said, slightly louder this time.
“I swear fealty to Queen Angeline Mary Ellen Robart, sovereign of Altera, now and for the rest of my life,” Connor corrected.
He saw that Angeline wanted to say something. He decided to test out his theory.
“He needs to be bent to our will,” he whispered directly into her mind. The widening of her eyes was the only confirmation he needed that she could hear him again. “Please, do not interfere. He is dangerous to both of us otherwise.”
The slight decline of her head was the only indication she gave of agreement, but it was enough.
“Say it,” Connor demanded. “We don’t have all night. I’ll go make myself another vampire who will do what I ask if I have to.”
“I swear fealty to Queen Angeline Mary Ellen Robart, sovereign of Altera, now and for the rest of my life,” Marcus said grudgingly.
At the words, Angeline smiled radiantly, and Connor was struck once again by how beautiful she was. She touched Marcus’s shoulder, and Connor had to hold himself back from snatching her hand away. He didn’t want her touching such filth. Filth like him.
“Thank you, Marcus. What is your full given name?”
Marcus looked up at her, and Connor read the surprise and uncertainty in his mind.
“Marcus Harold, of the Baford line,” Marcus said.
“Welcome to my service, Marcus Harold,” Angeline said smoothly. If she was affected at all knowing that the man kneeling at her feet was somehow related to her fiancé and the Clan’s First Seat, she gave no indication of it. “I will honor the promise of my companion. If you serve me to the best of your ability during our stay here at Tanagor, you will have your freedom when we leave. It will be your choice.”
Marcus knuckled his forehead in response.
“You may rise, Marcus Harold,” Angeline said. “You will follow every direction of your commanding officer, Connor Radwin, during the length of your service. You will be well rewarded for your loyalty. It is a great h
onor to serve the Robart family as I am sure you know from service with the Clan.”
Marcus’s eyebrows rose for just a moment before the look vanished. Connor had to wonder if service to the Clan Robarts was really all that equal to serving the human Robarts. But he had to admire her strength. Despite everything that happened, she appeared cool and unfazed. It was clear to him that it was always her destiny to be queen.
Catching a movement over Angeline’s shoulder, Connor realized in his haste to take Marcus to task, he had completely disregarded the servant acting as their escort to Angeline’s chamber.
Dara’s face appeared drained of color, and her mouth hung open like some kind of jester fool. A small yelp escaped her lips when she realized that Connor’s attention was once again focused on her. Angeline turned at the sound, and Connor could see that likewise, she had forgotten the servant’s presence.
Dropping into a small courtesy, Dara spoke. “If you are ready now, Your Majesty, we can continue. Your quarters are not far now.”
Angeline sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as if trying to expel some dark thought. “Of course. We have dallied long enough and are keeping you from your other duties.”
Connor caught the subtle hint directed at him even without reading her mind. She wanted to get somewhere quiet and solitary as quickly as possible. She didn’t want him delaying that any longer.
The rest of the walk was quiet. Connor walked slightly behind Angeline’s left shoulder. His eyes scanned the corridor in front and behind them watching for any indication that Theodora had decided to spring a new trap to catch them unaware. Marcus flanked her other side, and appeared to be doing the same. Connor was almost certain that Angeline used compulsion to quiet the man beside him. He never considered that Angeline would have that ability as well, but he recognized the signs of it. He wasn’t even sure she was aware that she had done it.
The thought was troubling. The original intention for traveling to meet with the Clan was to find the cure for Angeline’s wraith problem. Instead, it seemed as if it had only become further embedded inside of her, especially in light of her proclamation that she was the One.